Garden stool with scraper equipped



March 31, 1964 H. THESMAR 3,127,190

GARDEN STOOL WITH SCRAPER EQUIPPED ROLLERS Filed Oct. 11, 1961 United States Patent 3,127,190 GARDEN STOOL WITH SQRAPER EQUIPPED RQLLERS Louis Hasireil Thesmar, R0. Box 1031, Houma, La, assignor of fifty percent to Les Ryder, Houma, La. Filed Oct. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 144,477 1 Claim. (Cl. 280-791) The present invention relates to a movable support or stool, and more particularly to a rolling stool for facilitating gardening or other activities.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a rolling stool which is adapted to support a person in a position contiguous to the ground or floor so that a person can perform various types of Work or activities while being comfortably and conveniently supported in a position adjacent the ground or floor, and wherein the rolling stool of the present invention includes enlarged cylindrical rollers or drums which help insure that the device will not sink into soft ground or the like.

Another object is to provide a rolling stool which includes a support member that has a pair of cylindrical drums or rollers operatively connected thereto, and wherein there is provided scrapers for automatically removing or scraping mud, dirt or the like from the rollers, and wherein the rollers are maintained connected to the support member by means of a resilient mounting means which permits the rollers to be readily connected or disconnected from the support member as desired or required.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of the character described that is economical to manufacture and efficient in operation and which is rugged in structure and foolproof in use.

Further objects and advantages are to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a device of the character described that is economical to produce, durable in form, and conducive to the most economical use of materials and uniformity of members formed therefrom.

Still further objects and advantages will become apparent in the subsequent description in the specification.

in the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view taken on the line 11 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view on a reduced scale illustrating the rolling stool of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the rolling stool of the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view illustrating the blank for making the support member of the rolling stool and showing the position of the parts before they are folded or bent.

FIGURE 6 is a plan view illustrating the intermediate crosspiece having the scrapers thereon.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates the rolling stool of the present invention which is shown to comprise the support member as indicated generally by the numeral 11, and the support member 11 includes a horizontally disposed top wall 12 as well as spaced parallel vertically disposed end walls 13, and the support member 11 further includes a pair of spaced parallel vertically disposed side walls 14. The side walls 14 are each provided with spaced apart bearing portions 15 which have apertures or openings 16 therein for a purpose to be later described.

The rolling stool of the present invention further includes a pair of enlarged cylindrical drums or rollers 17 which each have the same construction, and each of the rollers 17 may have a hollow interior as indicated by the numeral 18, FIGURE 2. Each roller 17 further includes spaced parallel end sections 19 and 28 as well as a cylindrical side wall section or portion 21, and extending longitudinally though each roller 17 is a generally cylindrical hub or sleeve 22. The numeral 23 indicates a base piece which is adapted to be fixedly mounted in the hub 22 as by welding, and a trunnion 24 extends outwardly from an end of the base piece 23, and the trunnion 24 is adapted to engage one of the openings or apertures 16 as shown in the drawings. There is further provided for each roller 17 a movable plunger or pin 25 which includes a shank 26 that is adapted to engage a corresponding aperture 16, and the plunger 25 further includes an enlarged head or portion 27 for abutting or engaging a shoulder 28 within the hub 22. The numeral 29 indicates a coil spring which is arranged within the hub 22, and the coil spring 29 is interposed between the head 27 and the inner end portion of the base piece 23.

The lower edges of the end walls 13 are tapered or beveled as at 30 so as to define scrapers for helping to scrape or remove mud, dirt or other foreign matter from the rotating rollers 17.

As shown in FIGURE 1 for example and as shown in FIGURE 6, there is provided a horizontally disposed crosspiece 31 which extends between the pair of side walls 14 and which is secured thereto as by welding, and the crosspiece 31 is adapted to have a generally U-shape in cross'section, so that the crosspiece 31 includes a horizontally disposed top portion 32 as well as vertically disposed flanged portions 33, and the flanged portions 33 are tapered or beveled for engaging the outer periphery of the rollers 17 whereby the tapered portions 33 function cooperatively with the tapered portions 30 to help scrape or remove dirt, mud or other foreign matter from the rotating rollers so that the rolling stool will not become clogged with foreign matter, mud or the like during use thereof.

Attention is directed to FIGURE 5 of the drawings wherein there is illustrated the blank which is indicated generally by the numeral 34, and the blank 34 is adapted to be bent or folded in order to form the support member 11, and it will be seen that the blank 34 consists of a single piece of suitable material such as a suitable piece of metal, and the portions 14 are adapted to be folded along the crease or fold lines 35, and the portions 13 are adapted to be folded along crease or fold lines 36 in order to form the final configuration or shape of the support member 11.

In FIGURE 6 the numeral 37 indicates the blank used for making or forming the crosspiece 31.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided a rolling stool which can be used for various purposes, and as desired or required, and in use with the parts arranged as shown in the drawings, it will be seen that the stool 14 includes support member 11 which is provided with the horizontally disposed top wall 12, and the top wall 12 provides a convenient support for a person performing various types of work or other activity requiring the person to be close to the ground or other surface. For example when a person is gardening or the like, the person is adapted to conveniently sit on the member 11 and due to the provision of the rollers 17, the device can be readily moved along the ground from place to place as desired so that the various types of work being performed can be accomplished with maximum comfort and facility. Due to the provision of the large cylindrical drums or rollers 17, the device will not readily sink into the ground, and thus the enlarged rollers 17 are more advantageous than small wheels or the like which would have a tendency to sink into mud, soft ground or the like.

Also, it is to be noted that any mud or dirt picked up by the outer periphery of the drums 17 Will be automatically scraped off by the scraping portions 36' and 3 3 so that the rolling stool will remain clean and free of foreign matter whereby there will be no interference with the rolling action of the rollers 17.

The rollers 17 are maintained connected through the support member 11 by the mounting means which includes the spring pressed plunger 25, and this construction permits the rollers 17 to be disconnected from the support member 11 when desired or required. However, the springs 29 will normally maintain suificient pressure on the plungers 25 so that accidental disengagement or separation of the rollers 17 from the support member 11 will be prevented. Each roller 17 has a trunnion 24 which engages an opening 16 in the bearing portion 15 of a side wall 14, and each roller 17 further includes the movable plunger 25 which is urged or biased outwardly by the spring 29, and the shoulder 28 is adapted to be abutted by the enlargement 27 so as to prevent the plunger 25 from moving too far out of the hub 22. When a roller 17 is to be disconnected from the support member 11, it is only necessary to push in on the plunger 25 so that the outer end portion of the plunger stem 26 moves in out of engagement with its aperture 16 so that the entire roller 17 can be removed or disconnected from the support member 11.

FIGURES and 6 illustrate the initial position of the blanks used for making the support member and crosspiece 31, and these blanks are adapted to be folded along crease or fold lines to cause the parts to assume their desired final position.

The parts can be made of any suitable material and in different shapes or sizes.

The rolling stool of the present invention has a simple and rugged construction and the stool utilizes the drums or rollers 17 instead of conventional wheels and this is advantageous because Wheels have a tendency to sink in lawns, wet ground or the like and are practically immobile. The rolling stool of the present invention is especially suitable for picking low growing crops such as beets, beans and the like. The rolling stool of the present invention is constructed so that it can readily move through or across grass or heavy or muddy soil as Well as sandy soil, and the present invention is particularly useful in harvesting vegetables.

Gardeners find stooping over to plant or harvest vegetables or to edge sidewalks very tedious, but the stool of the present invention will help overcome such tedium. Also, the rolling stool can be readily shifted from place to place as desired so that vegetables, plants or the like can be planted and picked with greater ease and with less effort. The rolling stool includes a minimum number of parts, and there is utilized the drums or rollers 17 instead of wheels, since wheels have a tendency to sink in grass or moist ground and therefore are practically immobile. The wall 12 provides a fiat surface on which to sit, and the parts are arranged and constructed so that easy rolling will be insured, and wherein the device can be rolled forward or backward as desired or required.

While the rolling stool of the present invention is especially suitable for gardeners, it can be used for other purposes such as for Waxing or painting floors, as well as for waxing or painting or otherwise working on lower portions of walls or the like. In connection with gardening, the rolling stool will help eliminate the strain of bending over to edge, weed, plant and harvest low growing crops such as bush beans, carrots, lettuce and the like, and it will enable the gardener or harvester to progress down rows of vegetables with ease and comfort to thereby increase efficiency in the case of professional growers by reason of lessened fatigue. As shown in FIGURE 5 the entire member 11 can be cast or made as one piece of material with holes or openings punched as at 16 for the drum rollers, and the rollers have a spring type mounting to fit the openings 16. By using the enlarged cylindrical drums 17 instead of wheels, the device will not sink in soft ground or heavy ground and such drums 17 will insure that the device will roll smoothly. The upper portion of the support member 11 may have rounded edges thereon.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

What is claimed is:

A rolling stool comprising a support member including a horizontally disposed top wall, spaced parallel end walls and spaced parallel vertically disposed side walls, the lower edges of said end walls being tapered to provide scrapers, said side walls having diametrically opposed bearing portions provided with apertures therein, a pair of horizontally disposed cylindrical hollow rollers arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to each other, longitudinally extending cylindrical hubs mounted in the central portions of said rollers, a base piece fixedly mounted in each of said hubs and each base piece having a trunnion on its outer end engaging an adjacent aperture, a plunger movably mounted in said hub and said plunger including a shank for engaging a corresponding adjacent aperture, an enlarged head on the inner end of said plunger, a shoulder in said hub for engagement by said head, a coil spring interposed between said head and base piece, and a crosspiece interposed between said rollers and said crosspiece extending between the side walls of said support member and atlixed to said side walls, said crosspiece including a horizontally disposed top portion and vertically disposed flange portions having tapered surfaces providing scrapers for engaging said rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 150,979 Shepard May 19, 1874 905,073 Henn et al. Nov. 24, 1908 1,141,295 Wright June 1, 1915 1,383,462 Gillette July 5, 1921 1,734,356 Welch Nov. 5, 1929 2,370,548 Kordes Feb. 27, 1945 2,606,724 Hertz Aug. 12, 1952 2,688,181 Livermont et al. Sept. 7, 1954 2,830,824 Young Apr. 15, 1958 2,876,960 Glaner Mar. 10, 1959 2,895,160 Clifton July 21, 1959 

